Grinding machine



` June 12, 1934.

w A. GoERlNG 1,962,302 GRINDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 28. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l '"imum INVENTOR ATTORNEYS June 12, 1934. w A. GOERING 1,962,302

GRINDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 28. 3.95; 15 Sheetsfheet '2 INVENroR 'L QAM ATTORNEYS June 12, 1934. W. Al GOER|NG 1,962,302

GRINDING- MACHINE Filed Deo. 28. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS C-Tl Patented June 12, 1934 GRINDING MACHINE William A. Goering, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Safety Grinding Wheel & Machine Company, Springfield, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 28, 1931, Serial No. 583,574

8 Claims.

This invention relates to grinding machines, it more particularly relating to that type of grinding machine which has a peripheral grinding wheel which is passed over stationary work.

The machine has been particularly designed for grinding the upper surfaces or treads of track rails in order to remove from the rails a peculiar type of surface deformation or imperfections known as corrugations.

The object of this invention is to provide in a grinding machine of this type a competent, accurate and flexible support for the frame on which the grinding machine is mounted during the progress of the machine over the work that the effective grinding operation of the wheel will not be interfered with by the irregular surface of the work over which the support passes.

A further and more specic object of the invention is to provide a support for the grinding wheel of a grinding machine of the type referred to be constructed in such a way that the rise and fall of the support due to irregularities in the work will not be transmitted in their entirety to the grinding Wheel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a grinding machine of this type which is adapted to an arrangement in which a plurality of such machines or units may be connected together so that the grinding wheel of each unit may be made to perform easily a small cutting increment of the total necessary cut and to also provide an arrangement for each unit whereby this slight increment of cut may be maintained regardless of the general condition of the track p with respect to waves or Vlow joints therein.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the improvements.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on the line 3--3 of. Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary` side elevation, showing details of the construction seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged, fragmentary vertical section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic View showing in an exaggerated manner, the action of the devices The exact cause of the formation of these ridges f is not known, but it is recognized that the tendency to develop a corrugated condition has been mest pronounced in the rigid construction of trackage, i. e., where the rails and treads are` rigidly embedded in concrete. These corrugations also occur more frequently where the highest speed is obtained in the equipment and it seems to occur more frequently where all the wheels of the equipment are drivers, trailer f wheels apparently not having a tendency to produce the corrugations. The corrugations are not excessively deep, but corrugations lg deep are to be considered intolerable, and, if not removed in some manner, such as by grinding, the rail must be replaced.

A grinding wheel that would be calculated to remove an amount of metal from the work that is sometimes indicated by the depth of the corrugations would not be a satisfactory wheel for general-purposes as it would necessarily have to be so hard, rugged and strong that its cutting efliciency or power to remove metal would be greatly and seriously impaired. On the contrary it is obvious that a more efficient grinding wheel for the purpose would be one which was designed to travel comparatively fast over the work and produce but a slight depth of cut compared to the depths of the oorrugations in order to perform free and fast cutting, low wear upon the grinding wheel, good cutting, low power consumption and very low heating of the object being cut. To that end in practice a plurality of grinding units such as the one to be described are connected together in a manner more fully explained in the co-pending application of Hormon G. Weinland iiled simultaneously herewith, Serial No. 583,473, each grinding unit removing an increment of the desired out and enough grinding units being employed to reduce the corrugations or ridges or other imperfections to the level of the tread of the rails upon both sides of the track, but as the particular improvements set forth in this application relate to the manner of supporting the grinding wheel of each unit, it has not been deemed necessary to show more than the one grinding unit.

As before pointed out, the grinding machine is of the type in which the grinding wheel travels over the rails to be ground and as it is supported by the rails, it is obvious that the corrugations or other imperfections in the treads of the rails would cause'a rise of the grinding wheel with relation to the rails. 1f

this rise of the grinding wheel was equal to the height of the ridges or other imperfections, it is apparent that the effective grinding operation of the wheel would be materially reduced if not entirely destroyed. In order, therefore, that the grinding wheel may not be affected by the rise of the supporting member to .an extent which would interfere with its effective grinding operation, I have devised; the. following construction.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a grinding lwheel which is mounted on `a spindle -2 lin any suitable conventional manner, thisA spindle beingvmounted -to rotate in a housing 3 which issupported on .the -part 4 of a box-like frame construction, themembers of which are indicated .at4.

The spindle.2 .is rotated vby means of van elec- .tric motor 5. mounted on the. top of the frame .and so disposed that much of the weight of .the motor assists inA holding the grinding wheel -to the work.

During the transportation the -entire weight of the frame and the parts supportedthereby are carried upon front-andrear flanged wheels 7 and 8 which are rotatably. mounted on `dead or stationary axles 10 .and.10, these .wheels being .adapted to run .upon one rail of the track. .1n practice two sets of frames .are connected together in side-by.side ,but relatively movable relation and .also a series of ,such connected .units coupled together in a. train in the manner morefully` describedin the lWeinland application previously referred to.

The. frame is `so mounted upon the .axles that it may be raised and lowered. To that end there vis secured to thefforward. axle 10 one arm 50 of a bent lever whichis pivotedupon a pin-51v carried by `a vbracket 11` secured to the mainframe, the .other -arm 52 of this bent leverbeing pivotally connected to the piston rod 53 of .a uid pressure cylinder 54 to which air under pressure is supplied from any suitable source. The free endV of the varm 50 is secured tothe shaft 10 by the cap 55.

At the rear of the frame there is provided another bent lever, one .arm 56 of which is clamped to the rear .axle 10 by the cap 57 and the other arm 58 vof which is .pivotally connected to the` piston rod ,59 of a uid pressure cylinder '60 to which air under pressure is supplied from any suitable source; this bent lever being pivoted on ,a pin 61 carried bythe main frame. By means of these fluid pressure cylinders, the frame and its parts may be. raised for transportation purposes.

Toposition the machinefor grinding operations, the air inthe uid pressure cylinders is exhausted and the frame. lowered until a semi- .circular pocket in the extension 11 of the bracket 11 seats itself upon the front axle 10,

.which supports the forward end of the frame and .allows theframe to pivot thereabout; the rear end of the frame being free from the axle 10 and being supported entirely in the manner to be explained; the rear wheel 8 merely act- .in thev ears 18 of the shoe.

ing as a guide for the frame and forming no part in the support thereof during the grinding operation.

During the grinding operation, the main frame is supported in addition to the wheel '7, by a semi-circular member which in addition to its supporting medium for the weight of the frame also acts as a hood for the grinding wheel. This supporting member is constructed of a heavy band 12 which has an outer` integral ring or rib 25, there being also preferably secured to this band side enclosing members 12 to shield the major portion of the grinding wheel. Pivotally attached to the band 12 by pivot pins 15.are.two shoes 13.and 14. Each of these shoes vis adapted to ride upon and be guided by the track rails and to that end is provided with a ilangel.

Thepivot pins 15 are each threaded (Fig. 5) for insertion in a threaded boss 17 on the member l2, the-pivot pin being rotatably mounted The ears 18 straddle the boss 1'? .with .a clearance space on each side .and by use of a pinned` collar 19 and head 20 of the bolt, rotation of the pivot pin 15 permits of .a lateral adjustment of the shoe.

`'The main frame is supported upon this supporting member in a manner to permit the supporting member to conform itself to irregularities in the work, such as the aforementioned corrugations of the track rails, without affecting the effective operation of the grinding wheel in the following manner:

.A screw 21 is threaded in a nut 26 which is secured .to the mainframe 4 and the lower end of this screw has a reduced portion .which eX- tendsloosely in a recess in a block 22. The block has secured thereto a pair of parallel arched bars 23 between the free ends of which are carried rollers 24 which bear upon the curviv linear ring or rib 25 of the supporting band 12; at

points equi-distant from the center of the screw. The curvature imparted to the. rib is preferably on the arc of a circle whose center is substantially .at the axis .of the grinding wheel when the wheel is full sized and in working position. The block 22 is provided with a recess 22 which straddles the rib 25 which rib is also straddled by recessed guide members 4" secured to the main frame to further assist in guiding the same.

The supporting member is connected to the main frame by a pair of coil springs 62, these springs serving to raise and support the supporting member when the main frame is raised for transportation purposes.

From-this arrangement it will be seen that when the main frame is lowered in the manner described and the shoes 13 and 14 rest upon the track rails, the main frame will be pivotally supported at the front by the axle 10 and the balance of the main frame supported upon the curvilinear rib 25 of the supporting band 12 through the medium of the nut 26, screw 21, block 22, arch bars 23 and rollers 24.

The initial adjustment of this grinding wheel through the medium of the screw 21 is such vthat itsperipheral grinding surface will be substantially flush with the tread of a track rail free from ridges or other inperfections. A line touching the rail-contact surface of each shoe and the grinding wheel is called the grinding line.

As the wheel wears away and the frame is lowered to compensate for this wear by turning the screw 21 through the hand wheel 27, a pivotal movement of the frame about the axle 10 takes place.

By this construction it is apparent that the main frame isv mounted upon thesupporting member 12 in a way which will permit relative movement between the part; that whenever one side of the curvilinear support rises it swings about the pivotal point of the other side thereof with the corresponding shoe, and that, inasmuch as the grinding wheel is supported centrally between the two sides of the supporting member, the height to which the grinding wheel will be raised will be one-half the distance to which the side of the supporting member is raised. In other words, the distance to which the grinding wheel is raised will be substantially one-half the difference between the heights of the ridges beneath the respective shoes which difference represents the amount of cut imparted to intermediate ridges of these heights, so that the surface of the grinding wheel will always be maintained in effective grinding position upon ridges of the same or greater height or even of less height than the ridges which have raised the support.

This half distance elevation of the grinding wheel occurs where one or the other of the shoes is elevated so that the grinding line 39 (Fig. 8) is varied with respect to the normal rail surface, such an elevation resulting in making a lever out of the supporting member 12 and does not result in a partial revolution thereof. Longer imperfections, however, will cause a partial rotation of the supporting member 12 and will not change the wheel elevation, the cut made by the wheel in such cases being the difference between the elevation of the shoes.

In Fig. 3 is shown diagrammatically one of the conditions met with in the operation of the device, the height of the corrugations being greatly exaggerated.

It will be noted in Fig. 8 that the forward or right hand shoe is represented as sliding along the unground rail, and is about to move onto a corrugation 37. The rear or left hand shoe 14 is shown as sliding along the ground portion of the rail. There is a difference in elevation of these two shoes as represented by the distance 28, and since the member 12 in this case was caused to act as a lever, the wheel is elevated approximately one-half the distance 28, assuming that the pivotal points 15 are equi-distant from the center line. Should distance 28 be changed for any reason, due to conditions in the track, the depth of the cut will always remain at one-half that distance.

portion 38 of the corrugations 38 shown in broken lines indicates the extent this corrugation has been reduced, and it should be apparent that the corrugation will eventually be removed entirely by the wheels of the units following.

It is therefore evident that the most desirable condition is to have the minimum distance between the shoes, i. e., a minimum distance bei tween pivots 15. This condition is limited by the size of the grinding wheels,

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a grinding machine for track rails, a main frame, a wheeled support for one end of said frame on which said frame is pivotally mounted, a second support for said frame having two points of contact with the track, a grinding wheel supported by said main frame between said two points of contact, said second support'having a circularly-extending bearing surface formed on the arc of a circle whose radius is greater than that of said grinding wheel, and a pair of rolls carried by said main frame having a bearing upon said bearing surface.

2. In a grinding machine for track rails, a main frame, a wheeled support for one end of said frame on which said frame is pivotally mounted, a second support for said frame having two points of contact with the track, a grinding wheel supported by said main frame between said two points of contact, said second support having a circularly-extending bearing surface formed on the arc of a circle whose radius is greater than that of said grinding wheel, a pair of rolls carried by said main frame having a bearing upon said bearing surface, and means between the frame and support for holding the same in vertical alignment.

3. In a grinding machine, a main frame, a grinding wheel carried by said frame, a support for said main frame having two points of contact with the work, said support having a circularly-extending bearing surface, a pair of parallel bars carried by said main frame, and rollers carried by the free ends of said bars and bearing upon said circularly-extending bearing surface.

4f. In a grinding machine, a grinding wheel, a main frame upon which said grinding wheel is mounted, track wheels supporting one end of said frame, a second support for said main frame having two points of contact with the work located on opposite sides of said grinding wheel, said second support having a circularlyextending bearing surface formed on the arc of a circle whose radius is greater than that of said grinding wheel, an adjustable screw car- 'fied by said frame, means loosely engaging with said screw havin r a bearing upon said circularly extending surface at two points equi-distant from said screw, and means between said frame and second support for holding the same in Vertical alignment.

5. In a grinding machine, a main frame, a grinding wheel carried thereby, track wheels supporting one end of said frame, a second support having a point of contact upon the work on each side of said wheel, said second support having a circularly-extending bearing surface formed on the arc of a circle whose radius is greater than that of said grinding wheel, an adjustable screw carried by said frame, a block loosely engaged with the lower end of said screw, and a pair of rolls carried by said block and bearing upon said circularly-eXtending bearing surface, said rolls being equi-distant from the center of said block, and means for loosely holding the frame and second support in vertical alignment.

6. In a grinding machine, a main frame, a grinding wheel carried thereby, track wheels supporting one end of said frame, a second support having a circularly-extending bearing surface formed on the arc of a circle whose radius is greater than that of said grinding wheel, a pair of shoes pivotally connected with said second support and adapted to rest upon the work on each side of said grinding wheel for slidable movement upon the work, and means for supporting said frame at two points upon said circularly extending bearing surface.

7. In a grinding machine, a main frame, a grinding wheel carried thereby, track wheels supporting one end of said frame, a hood for said Wheel having a circularly-extending exterior bearing surface formed on the arc of a circle Whose radius is greater than that of said grinding wheel, a pair of shoes pivotally conneoted with said hood one on each side of said grinding wheel, said shoes being adapted to rest and slide upon the Work, and a pair of rolls carried by said frame adapted to bear upon said circularly-extending bearing surface.

8. In a grinding machine, a main frame, a grinding Wheel carried thereby, track Wheels supporting one end of said frame, a hood for said Wheel having a circularly extending exterior WILLIAM A. GOERING. 

